


Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal

by TheYearOfTheWolf



Category: Krampus (2015)
Genre: Gen, krampus is kind of an asshole, teenage girl demands apology from several thousand year old monster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5486753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheYearOfTheWolf/pseuds/TheYearOfTheWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dear Krampus; For this Christmas, I wish that you would drag your ass down to my home, and apologize for terrorizing my family and for being such an asshole. Have a Merry Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal

_Dear Krampus_  
  
_For this Christmas, I wish that you would drag your ass down to my home, and apologize for terrorizing my family and for being such an asshole. Have a Merry Christmas._

 _Sincerely, Beth Engel._  
  
_P.S. Fuck you._  
  
* * * * *  
  
She'd never meant to write the letter, and she most certainly did not mean to crumble it into a ball and toss it outside. Unlike Max's letter, she didn't rip it up...but just like Max's letter, it was abruptly snatched by the wind, and carried up into the sky.  
  
It was December 21st, almost a year since she and her family had been visited by Saint Nicholas' shadow, as Omi called him. And the year itself hadn't been that great of one.  
  
Oh, sure, her family was closer, and things were actually pretty fun when Linda and Howard had visited for Thanksgiving, but it also revealed a major problem with the adults: with the exception of Omi, none of their parents wanted to acknowledge what had happened last Christmas. It was almost as if it had never even happened.  
  
Except that was a load of crap. Beth might not have the clearest memory of that day, but she remembered the dead body in the delivery truck. She remembered the Jack in the Box by the vehicle, though only just. And based on what Stevie and Jordan had told her, she was really grateful for not remembering much of _that_.  
  
Most of all, she remembered seeing him. Krampus. The horns, the cloak, how big he was, how fucking fast he was when he was chasing her, the hooves stomping around the truck. And how he'd had to have known she was under that truck the whole time, otherwise why leave the Jack in the Box? He'd known - he had just been screwing with her!  
  
And it wasn't just her family. A few days after that nightmare, the Engels had discovered that all of Ramona Falls had come under attack by Krampus and his nightmare-fuel collection. But just like her parents, almost a year later no one wanted to admit it had actually happened. Sure, they were being much kinder this holiday season, but they weren't talking about _why_.  
  
With the adults, it wasn't the biggest deal - she could cope - but with Derek...it was.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Beth had been dying to talk about it with him. Sure, she had Max and Jordan and Stevie - and she'd had more than one phone call or texting session with her cousins to get things off her chest - but it wasn't the same. She and Derek weren't the closest couple, but they'd had fun and she'd really cared about him. Hell, her concern for him was the whole reason she got grabbed first.  
  
She'd tried to hide how she was feeling. But the closer they got to December, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Anytime she heard bells jingling she'd tense, and she'd suddenly be back under that delivery car, staring at giant hooves wrapped in chains and a cloak.  
  
Derek had refused to talk about it. Her dad had told her - during one of the few times he'd given into the subject - that his house had been torn apart, and that the chimney had been leveled with hoof prints all around the fireplace. Beth had tried to ask Derek about it, but he would always just say he never remembered. She hadn't meant to push him, but one night she couldn't help herself - and he finally snapped.  
  
He had told her it never happened, that he'd taken too many hits off his bong that night, and that she'd must have done the same. Either that or she was as crazy as everyone else was.  
  
And that was when she'd punched him. She hadn't meant to, but something had snapped in her too - and then she was screaming at him. That he was being a coward, and that he wasn't the only one who'd suffered. She screamed at him about how she'd been under that car in the freezing cold with that monster two feet from her, how she was terrified for her life, and had wondered if he was already dead. That she'd been terrified she might never see her parents or Max again. And how he'd never even asked her about how she was doing this whole time, and finally, how the whole reason she had gone into the storm was to make sure he was okay because **_she_ ** cared.  
  
By that point she'd stopped bothering to hold back the tears, but her crying didn't soften her biting tone as she 'thanked' him for caring back. And then she'd stormed out, slamming the door behind her.  
  
That was back in early November. It wasn't even four weeks later before she saw him out on a date with someone else. Aunt Dorothy's peppermint schnapps recipe sounded pretty damn good at that moment.  
  
And now here she was, a few days before Christmas, staring up at the night sky as her crumbled letter was carried off by the wind, or something more sinister. She knew she'd just made a mistake. But she was angry, and she was hurt...and the truth was, there was a part of her that was unsure...  
  
What if it was all just in her head?  
  
She would soon be reminded how real it had all been.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When nothing happened after five minutes, she gathered her coat and hat. While she wasn't sure if anything would happen, she knew that if it did, she didn't want it taking place anywhere near the house. A jog downstairs and a quick BS story later, and she was out the door and into the winter's night.  
  
There was a small pond in their neighborhood; two blocks down, and fortunately it was unoccupied. Part of the water had frozen over from the previous snow-storm, and the chilly weather had given it no chance to thaw.  
  
But - thankfully - it wasn't the arctic blizzard of last year. So she walked over to the lone bench, scrapped off the snow, and sat. The moon had come back out and was shining on the pond...even Beth could appreciate how lovely it was.  
  
Until she heard it. The jingling of bells. In the distance, as if it was being carried on the wind right up to her ear.  
  
She'd darted from the bench, circling around. The wind had picked up, the barren trees shaking as if they knew what was coming, and were trying to flee. But just as she was about to run, the bells stopped; everything went quiet and still.  
  
Beth let out a sigh of relief and, feeling foolish, turned to leave. And almost walked right into him.  
  
A scream tore from her throat as she fell backwards onto the ground. Frantically, she scrambled to her feet, the snow nearly causing her to slip once before she regained her footing. Her eyes never left him the entire time.  
  
He was even bigger up close, towering well over her even without the extra height his horns added. Chains adorned with small bells hung from his massive red cloak, and his long fingers twitched like the legs of a spider as he stalked towards her. And his face...oh, God, his face...  
  
Except it wasn't his face; she'd remembered Max telling her that. It was like he'd skinned Santa's face and beard off and now wore them like a trophy.  Even now, as he approached her, she could see that it was nothing but a horrible mask. She could see the real skin surrounding his eyes, and the flicker of sharp teeth behind the gaping jaw of the mask.  
  
Every muscle in her body and every thought in her brain were telling her to run. And she wanted to. She wanted to flee, and scream for help, scream for anyone who might hear. But she didn't; instead she stood her ground, her eyes wide with fear but also a defiance as she tilted her chin up to meet his gaze.  
  
"Good, y-you got my note." Beth's voice only trembled once, and then she found her nerves again. "So...I hope that means you'll be granting me my request. I expect an apology for what you did to me and my family and-"  
  
And then, much to her surprise, the thing spoke.  
  
"Shut up, you petulant child."  
  
Beth blinked several times. Did he just talk? Wait did her just tell her to shut up?  
  
Despite her fear of his size, the corpse-like mask he wore, and his voice - a deep, gravelly sound, she couldn't hide her outrage. "I am NOT a child, you bastard!" The word barely escaped her lips before she tried to retract it, and covered her mouth out of instinct.  
  
Krampus, however, merely chuckled in amusement, and leaned closer to her. "Everyone is a child in my presence. I am old, little one. So _very_ old. I have walked this world for thousands of years, and will continue to do so long after the youngest of your family have withered and died." His breath was hot against her face, and she reflexively took a step back.  
  
"And as for your, request, I will not. Would you ask a lion to apologize for hunting a gazelle? It is its nature. And my nature is to punish, to show you what matters above all, especially this time of year."  
  
"Show us what? How terrified we can be before getting dragged off to hell by a giant Santa-obsessed goat?" Beth didn't mean to shout, nor with such venom, but it still came out. Despite her fear, she couldn't believe the attitude of this creature. He didn't even sound that arrogant - he just spoke like this was all obvious knowledge, indisputable fact.  
  
The beast tilted his head, and she could tell he was studying her face. "No...I show you to cherish and love what you have, because it won't always be there. And I help you find what matters in your lives...and your hearts." He hadn't even finished talking before he turned and started to stomp away.  
  
She stared after him before taking a few steps forward. "Wait, that's it? That's all you have to say to me?!"  
  
Krampus stopped and twisted his body slightly, but he didn't meet her gaze this time. "Go home, Beth Engel. Go watch Charlie Brown with your family, and let Derek find his own way...everyone carries my lessons differently. You can't carry his anymore than he can carry yours..."  
  
The wind picked up, and with it the snow. It swirled white around him, rattling his chains and causing the bells to jingle madly. It carried his voice back to her once more; "And if I was such an asshole, we wouldn't be having this conversation."  
  
And then the snow cleared, and he was gone.  
  
Beth stared at where he'd stood. There weren't even any hoof prints; it was as if he'd never been there.  
  
"Thanks for nothing," she finally mumbled to herself, unsure of what else to do or say. So she stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and began the walk back to her house.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Beth didn't discover it until the next morning after getting a shower. She was coming back into her bedroom, drying her hair with an extra towel, which she nearly dropped when she spotted it.  
  
Sitting on her dresser was a snow-globe. Underneath it, a piece of paper. She stared for a moment, and then quickly walked over to inspect it. The note simply said _'Merry Christmas.'_ And the snow-globe had _'Gruss Vom Krampus'_ engraved around the bottom of the globe. She'd almost set it back down before something caught her attention.  
  
The house in the snow-globe was theirs. And perched on the roof was a hooded figure with long curved horns.  
  
Despite herself, Beth let out a soft, though still bitter laugh.  
  
"Merry Christmas to you too, asshole."

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in a long time but I really got into this movie and its limited fandom. Be gentle? Feedback is awesome. Special thanks to girlsarewolves for beta-reading.


End file.
